As teachers, we have SO much going on ALL the time. Lessons, observations, meetings … you name it, we do it. Oh, and let’s not forget that we also have LIVES outside of teaching!! So how do we stay on top of the tasks work throws at us in order to live a life outside of our career that’s fulfilling to us?!

Over the past couple years I have put some strategies into place that I make sure to implement daily in order to be able to leave school, at school, so that I can dedicate all my time outside of school to things that I enjoy and fill up my cup.

Physical Organization

This is KEY for me! I have a bazillion plastic drawers (ok, not a bazillion, but you know what I mean) that I use regularly. Teacher friends, you know the rainbow one’s I’m talking about!! I have one drawer for each subject, each day of the week, and each month. This makes it easy to pull Math homework out of the Math drawer on Friday and put it in for each day of the week for the next. This allows me to find that last minute St. Patrick’s Day activity from the March drawer to make a copy of quick before school. This helps me to stay organized beyond belief to ensure I’m not wasting any time trying to find what I need.

Have your Students HELP

This is a big one. How many teachers are spending their time sharpening pencils, organizing their classroom library, passing out papers? We have more important things to do!! While these are all tasks that need to be done, they don’t need to be done by adults. In my classroom each student has a classroom job. Yep, every single one of them. Since implementing this system in my classroom, I have created so much more time for myself to plan. Off to the side you’ll find a list of the different jobs I have in my room, if you’re in need of some ideas! Feel free to reach out with any questions you may have on them!

Effective To-Do Lists

What teacher doesn’t love to-do lists?! But the question is… are you making and using them effectively? If you’re just throwing things down on your list with no organization or purpose to it you will begin to feel overwhelmed and you’ll forget to do that thing you needed for Tuesday because you got caught up in what you needed for Friday. Brain dumping your list is still important, don’t get me wrong, you need to get all of those ideas out there on what you want to get done. What I do from there, though, to make sure I am making the best use of my time, is I go BACK through that list and write it AGAIN! Yup, again. But this time I’ll organize it by priority. This ensures I am working on the most important thing first, and then if I have some extra time during my plan time, I’m able to start something that will need to be done at a later date.

Happy planning, teacher!!

If you are looking for another way to find balance in your life so that you’re able to get done what you need to for school yet still have time to do what’s fulfilling to you OUTSIDE of the classroom, I have just the thing for you!! The FREE, yup, FREE 6 Days to A More Fulfilled You Challenge is BACK! This is a free challenge I have run before that helped multiple women find Fulfillment and joy in their every day lives OUTSIDE of their career! During these 6 days you will find more clarity around what you desire, a motivation to achieve your goals, and even newfound passions you don’t even know you have!